This year, a travel agent from Atlanta was detained and charged with illegally relating to a George Mason University men’s basketball team’s trip to the Bahamas.
Maurice Eugene Smith, founder and CEO of the Eugene Toriko go company, was charged with defrauding George Mason University and its base, which spent$ 159, 756 for what the FBI describes as a fake. Smith is accused of using at least some of the money to pay for his own trips to Mexico and Panama rather than using it to pay for the Patriots ‘ accommodations and flights. If found guilty of wire scams, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
According to a criminal complaint, filed this week in the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Smith’s alleged fraud plan ensnared several other victims, including an unnamed private college’s men’s baseball program and the global studies department of an unknown four-year people university in Georgia.

GMU made arrangements for its Bahamas trip with the VII Group, a sports event marketing firm that organizes Atlanta’s annual Holiday Hoopsgiving tournament in addition to arranging international tours for college basketball teams. The VII Group, which is identified as” Company A”, is not itself accused of wrongdoing.
On Thursday night, GMU, Eugene Toriko, and the VII Group’s representatives did not respond to emails asking for comment.
The VII Group issued a statement of responsibility for the situation after the trip was abruptly canceled, saying” we deeply regret that we have not lived up to those expectations.” The university, meanwhile, said it was “working to promptly resolve this matter and secure a full refund for those directly impacted”.
However, according to this week’s charging documents, none of the money has been reimbursed. After receiving communications between an FBI agent and a George Mason athletics official through a public records request, Sportico reported on the FBI’s interest in the matter in the beginning of September.
According to the complaint, the VII Group began discussing a potential trip with GM U’s men’s basketball team in June 2023. VII Group CEO Chris Williams, identified in a criminal affidavit as” Individual 1″, then contacted Smith, who he is said to have known through” a mutual acquaintance”, about arranging a trip for August 2024 through his travel agency. Smith initially emailed Williams a list estimate for$ 149, 542, which was later updated to$ 164, 336 to build in a” cushion” to cover surprise overages and profit for both companies. The price was subsequently lowered to$ 159, 756.

In April, a trip contract was digitally signed by officials from GMU, the GMU Foundation ( GMUF) and the VII Group. Even though the travel agency “was supposed to handle all travel arrangements,” Smith “was supposed to handle all travel arrangements,” and he “himself reviewed and edited the contract,” according to the criminal complaint, it is revealed that neither Smith nor Eugene Toriko were parties to the agreement.
The GMU Foundation wired an initial deposit of$ 55, 914.60 to the VII Group on April 17 and sent a second wire of$ 103, 841 on May 23. Using those funds, the VII Group paid$ 109, 756.07 to Eugene Toriko in three installments. The VII Group’s$ 50, 000 allegedly received by GMUF to pay is not disclosed in the complaint.
Smith claimed he never paid for those reservations, even though he had reserved 30 seats on an American Airlines flight from Washington’s Ronald Reagan Airport to the Bahamas and a block of rooms at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. Despite that, the complaint claims, he continued to send Williams emails and texts indicating that he had.
Smith initially declined to meet with the FBI when approached in September after initially offering a written apology to GMU through the VII Group. Later, in a telephone interview with agents, Smith said that he had subcontracted the to another agency he did not name, and chalked the botched trip up to an “oversight” and “misunderstanding”. According to the complaint, the FBI could find no evidence of another agency being involved in the discussions.
Smith’s work has received largely positive media and PR praise up until now. Robb Report recognized him as one of the” Best Black Travel Specialists Helping You Create Your Next Dream Vacation” last year, and Travel + Leisure named him on its 21st annual travel agent A-list.
The University of Memphis is currently suing The VII Group for a five-figure reimbursement it claims was owed for its participation in the 2022 Holiday Hoopsgiving event. In court filings, the VII Group has denied that it is in breach of contract.